LEADERSHIP

Ana López-De Fede, PhD, MEd, MA

Director

Research Professor
University of South Carolina Institute for Families in Society

Dr. López-De Fede joined the Board of the National Perinatal Information Center in 2017. Dr. López-De Fede is a Research Professor at the Institute for Families in Society, Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, and Affiliated Faculty with the Department of Special Education in the Educational Psychology Department at the University of South Carolina. At the Institute, as head of the Division of Medicaid Policy Research (MPR), Dr. López-De Fede currently directs interdisciplinary research dedicated to exploring the links between health, health service delivery systems and well-being. During her professional career, she has directed community-based organizations, served as a consultant with programs addressing the needs of at-risk vulnerable populations, worked as an advocate for enhanced health care and educational services for individuals with disabilities, and performed as a university unit administrator. She has served as a standing member of the AHRQ, Health Services and Systems Research Review Panel, which is a federal appointment authorized by the US HHS Secretary, and as a member of the CDC Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Tuberculosis. Additionally, Dr. López-De Fede has served as a reviewer for various journals including Public Health Reports, The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, and Ethnicity and Disease. Her publications and professional interests are in health care systems change, Medicaid and Medicare financing of health care, health care reform, spatial analytics, service delivery to rural and minority communities, and the social and cultural determinants of health. Dr. López-De Fede has a proven track record in the field of applied research and in bringing together different entities to build collaborative efforts, and has been cited her work with stakeholders to improve birth outcomes in the state of South Carolina. Dr. López-De Fede received her PhD in Health Services Research/Health Policy from Union Institute University, MEd in Vocational Counseling, and MA in Counseling Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University.